To Do

Happy New Year folks! Are you partied out? I am. I’m sure it’s age but I don’t care. I’m relishing the excuse to hibernate right now. But for those of you who are slightly less lame, here are some ideas to occupy the weekend ahead. You need something to do while you count the hours until Downton Abbey returns.

Tonight stave off brain atrophy and meet new people at Labyrinth’s Game Night. The first Thursday of the month means Word Games but according to their Facebook status there could also be some Euro games too. Game Night is free and goes from 6pm until 10pm www.labyrinthgameshop.com

Tomorrow and Saturday nights Tim Lee, a once and former scientist turned You Tube sensation, returns to the Atlas. Lee is super popular and tours the country and always stops in to see us on H when he is in town. See what all the fuss is about. Friday’s show is at 7:30 pm and Saturday’s are at 6pm and 8pm. Tickets are $25 for reserved seats, $20 general admission and $10 for students. Such a deal. www.atlasarts.org

Saturday Davis McLane Connelly opens a new exhibit at The Fridge. Connelly’s drawings depict animals and…the occasional Muppet in anthropomorphic settings. His desire is to “engage nostalgic and curious viewers in a dialogue concerning the regret of lost youth and the struggle for personal expression.” Sounds perfect for a New Year’s exhibt. www.thefridgedc.com The opening is from 7pm until 11pm and the exhibit is on display through January 27, 2013.

The Washington Jewish Film Festival opens today and the Atlas is one of it’s venues. Saturday evening at 6:30 catch a selection of shorts entitles Not So Strictly Kosher which examines religious and societal conventions. Also on that night’s bill is a documentary about self-proclaimed “Godfather of Grunge,”Jesse Bernstein. The film, which screens at 8:45 is called I Am Secretly An Important Man. Bernstein once opened for Nirvana and William S. Burroughs and rode on Ken Kesey’s bus as a teenager. Tickets to both are $11 or you can opt for the more-generous $15 Mensch ticket which further supports the efforts of the festival. I love the policy!

The Bernstein pic sounds fascinating but 8:45 is pretty late for me these days… If you go let us know how it was.

As a long-time Capitol Hill resident, I’m inviting THIH readers and fans of the Washington Jewish Film Festival to consider coming to the screening of Besa: The Promise, which I produced and edited and has been my labor of love for the past five years. Many Capitol Hill residents supported this film with donations in its early stage, and now is their chance to see it on the big screen. This internationally acclaimed documentary with an original score by composer Philip Glass will screen at the DCJCC on January 8th at 8:45pm. It is also screening in Rockville at the JCC on January 6th at 7:30pm. To see a trailer, go to besathepromise.com